SLPE-Designed Hollandse Kust (west Alpha) Substation Jacket Installed in the North Sea

06 October 2022
Hollandse Kust west Alpha OSS substructure installed in the North Sea

SLPE’s design for TenneT’s Hollandse Kust (west Alpha) substation jacket has been put into effect with the structure now fully installed at its destination in the North Sea.

SLPE worked on the design of the jacket and foundations since last year, when it was awarded the detailed design by Iemants (subsidiary of Smulders) in a joint venture with EQUANS, who are delivering the offshore substation for Dutch developer, TenneT.

“We are delighted to see our jacket design in action, and that our hard work over the last few months has paid off”, said Sam Lawes, Head of OSS Substructures at SLPE. “As with any offshore substructure design, the Hollandse Kust (west Alpha) jacket came with its own unique challenges. For one thing, the structure needed to meet the conditions of the seabed where it stands, which included building a solid foundation of rocks for it to sit on and driving its four piles over 50 m into the ground. It also needed to have a minimum lifespan of 40 years, something our innovative in-house software helped us both accurately quantify and deliver”.

“We are thrilled to witness our second Hollandse Kust detailed design project reach completion”, said Melvin Lau, Business Development Manager at SLPE. “We worked with Smulders to deliver the detailed design for Hollandse Kust (noord)’s OSS substructure, which was installed last year. Working with Smulders on Hollandse Kust (west Alpha) has been just as productive and enjoyable, and we look forward to partnering on further projects off the Dutch coast and elsewhere”.

The Hollandse Kust (west Alpha) jacket is 49 m high and weighs 2,200 tonnes and was built at the Heerema yard in Vlissingen. It has been installed in 28 m water depth and will support a topside of approximately 4,000 tonnes.

The platform will be fully operational from 2024, from when it will be able to connect 700 MW of offshore wind capacity to the Dutch grid.